SPHHS sponsors Western MA Health Equity Summit

October 25, 2016

The SPHHS is organizing and co-sponsoring the second Western MA Health Equity Summit on November 18, 2016, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm in the UMass Amherst Campus Center. The event will bring practitioners and community leaders together to take steps to advance health equity in the region by working, learning, and taking action together. The summit is geared toward a wide range of practitioners, professionals, young adults, and community leaders. Summit organizers are inspired by a vision of health equity in which all residents of the four Western Massachusetts counties are able to achieve well-being because unjust and avoidable obstacles are replaced with equitable policies and practices. The summit encourages attendees to take information back to work in their own communities, as well as join a network to address regional issues so that we may make positive and lasting change.

This year's summit includes a discussion by the 10-member Coalition of Western MA Hospitals/Insurers regarding their 2016 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and the Berkshire County Health Initiative. Organizers will also be showcasing best practices from all four western counties including data and stories on equity and our aging communities, youth mental health, transportation access, food access, and more. Afternoon workshops will include a look at Policy, Power Analyses, Intro to Health Equity, Health Literacy, Community-Based Participatory Research and other relevant topics.

State Representative Aaron Vega of Holyoke will deliver the keynote address.

Registration is now open. Fees are $50 ($25 for students) through November 4th. Late registration will also be available at $80, and on-site registration will be available at $90. Scholarships are also available (contact Risa Silverman at risa@schoolph.umass.edu for details).